Prolific Immigrant

16 Comments:

Anonymous michelle said…

I’m actually glad you brought this up…because I finally attended my first meetup through that site (I refuse to use that ridiculous terminology so prevalent among its content creators).

I had met one of the people before through flickr, and so I posed the question to the rest…what exactly do you use twitter *for* ? Flickr has a built in cohesiveness of interest, because it is inhabited by photo nerds. Twitter appears just to be a site where people…talk…about themselves. Right? Am I right in that assessment?

(will come back and see what others have to say, in the meantime…watch this and enjoy!
Thu Mar 26, 05:42:00 AM
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Anonymous lily said…

I’ve been thinking about this too because it seems to be EVERYWHERE now. All of a sudden peopleare Twittering all over the fucking place and there’s this thing about celebrities using it that feels annoying for some reason……probably because most of them can’t fucking spell and they sound like idiots and so the majic’s gone. We know you’re dumb with nothing interesting to say unless a professional writer does it for you!!!!!!!!!!

I don;’t mind the people who are twittering about interesting things and linking news stories, but the others? ANNOYING and I avoid them but I’m also fascinated by them, like Maha.

Why the fuck are people so hell bent on sharing so much information? I don’t get it, either and privacy is becoming a rare commodity.

About our communication skills @ bad enuf ppl r wrtng evrthng like a txt msg. Rly gr8 4 the wrtn wrd.

I’m going to watch the thing you linked to Michelle. I’ll be back. -lily
Thu Mar 26, 10:21:00 AM
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Anonymous lily said…

O.M.F.G.! I think I just pissed myself watching that video. Thanks, Michelle!!!!!!!!

HILARIOUS! I’m sharing with everyone I know -lily
Thu Mar 26, 10:31:00 AM
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Blogger Lisa said…

So true, Maha.
I did the same as you…signed up since everyone seems to be twittering. I haven’t posted since.
To me, doing a random meaningless blurb about being constipated today or pissed off at so-and-so seems so much like white noise.
I don’t need any more white noise in my life.
Maybe I’ll twitter that…my final twit.
Thu Mar 26, 11:00:00 AM
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Anonymous Maria said…

I don’t really know what Twitter is but I’ve read a few posts on some twitter pages and they just seem like a desperate plea for attention from anyone. It’s totally creepy. Please stay off Twitter!

That video was hilarious!!!! You don’t have any friends, lol!!!!!! Are people always on their machines or what?

Erm, Maha, please don’t ever ever EVER compare your blog to the shit on twitter. Love you and desperate for always more entries from you! You got soul and meat in your posts, gorgeous one!

Hugs,
Maria
Thu Mar 26, 03:28:00 PM
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Anonymous Anonymous said…

I BLAME TWITTER FOR THE DECLINE OF THE AMERICAN EMPIRE.

You’re hot.
Thu Mar 26, 03:29:00 PM
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Anonymous michelle said…

To expand on some observations, there is this quote “Twittering stems from a lack of identity. It’s a constant update of who you are, what you are, where you are. Nobody would Twitter if they had a strong sense of identity.” from here. (and present in that video to some extent)

And it ultimately does seem that way…in the beginning. My first introduction to the service was through a contact on flickr using it to post small updates while he travelled. Genius, right? You’ve probably got a mobile while travelling, and it’s highly cost-effective to just post something everyone can see at once.

So in some instances, there appears a legitimate use for it. Get yourself out of jail in a foreign country while travelling, create backlash and get “insulting” ads taken down, etc.

I’ve been on there for about a year now and at first it was pretty lame, as you can see I subscribed to a lot of news and quote accounts. Just recently a lot of photography friends (whom I’ve met in person) have joined and so now it’s a bit more like the IM aspect of what some reviews touch on. It’s easy, and keeps us in touch.

Never underestimate how lazy people are.

And so knowing (some) of your exposure to forums…it’s a bit like that, except that it’s all interests rolled into one site. It will always be hard to find the signal to the noise on the internet, and this service is absolutely not an exception to that rule.

They have implemented some very cool features like “trending” that show what is talked about most any given day…and their election presentation of that information was a brilliant chance to see the wide variety of conversations taking place about something we all had a stake in.

But yeah, I still feel a bit skeevy using it, because as the quote I posted yesterday points out:

The wise man speaks because he has something to say; the fool because he has to say something. (Guess which one twitter is full of…)
Thu Mar 26, 08:10:00 PM
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Anonymous Anonymous said…

“If a person does not twitter about it, does it really happen?”.. well.. if I do not twitter or never knew what twitter means till I read it here and watched the informative video, then DO I REALLY EXIST? maybe not! That would be a welcome relief as I would have to answer a whole lot of other questions if indeed I did exist, questions for which I can find no answers!

thanks for opening my eyes to the lives of others in this strange world of others, lives taht allow tehm to see a value in telling otehrs when they go to teh washroom.. That makes my miserable life look so darn good by comparison

BB
Fri Mar 27, 02:59:00 PM
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Anonymous Thomas said…

I’ve been reading about Twitter as well, and they’re saying it will replace email. I don’t understand the technology to know how that would happen – especially if people are using it to be “famewhoring”, as you write, then there would be no privacy.

Mind you, I believe you’re correct in your assumption that privacy is a rare commodity these days, and only interesting for those who have a relatively normal life and intelligent one at that.

By the way, the Chris Walken page no longer exists.

Thomas
Wed Apr 01, 12:54:00 PM
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Blogger one female canuck said…

BB – if people were to peek in on your life, MISERY is the last thing they would find, you motorcycle riding DEAN, loved by all…especially me lame as I am at email and responding to blog comments.

Michelle.
You’re just: Awesome.

Lisa – I just don’t get it. I really don’t, but it seems to fill a void…maybe it makes people feel more connected in an age where disconnect seems to be the norm?

Text
Face
Email
Messenger

…there’s maybe not a lot of personal connection anymore, and even though this isn’t…maybe it takes away some of the loneliness some people feel?

Maybe not?
I don’t know…really, I don’t know.
All I know is that I don’t have enough time or patience or attention to give one more social networking item, though the ones who are clever are super clever.

Thanks to everyone else for their comments and for sharing their opinions on the Twitter phenom.

My guess is it’ll eventually stop being so attractive to people who find it currently attractive. Then it’ll be replaced by something else. Who knows…

xxoo
Wed Apr 15, 10:23:00 PM
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Anonymous michelle said…

You know, I was thinking more about this after hearing someone diss on the service (yet again, it’s now the *in* thing to do) and thought to myself, “I wonder if he has a blog?”

Because in terms of attention-”whoring”, it’s the same concept. And so I thought I’d pose the question here, since you seem interested in actual discussion about it. (if not, then just ignore me and I’ll go write my own post )

Bloggers assume their lives are interesting enough to gather a crowd, they get a “following” of commenters (no shock here as you often refer to people who “live” at the blog), and some even use a blog to get a writing deal, so in essence are just “famewhoring” their way to a cushy life through their blog work. It may be longer than 140 characters, but you’re still entering text in some format in hopes for a return in eyeballs reading your stuff.

Now, I understand for some people, blogs serve as a place to *write*, but for others who perhaps prefer to write *less*, twitter replaces the blog function for them (hence why it’s called “micro-blogging”).

You can look at it as the user being self-involved, which some are — no question about that — or you can look at it as people seeking to be a part of a larger conversation.

IT’S SO CONFUSING I DON’T KNOW WTF TO THINK ABOUT IT STILL!
Fri May 29, 12:23:00 PM
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Anonymous lily said…

My two cents.

First, I don’t think that any writer unless they’re Steve King would call their lives “cushy”. They’re usually poor as shit.

Second, I think it’s really bizarre that you consider published writers famewhores. Why and how do you get there? Or is it sort of that anyone who has anything to say out loud is someone you consider a famewhore? Aren’t we all famewhores then?

Third, the difference is quality. Take for example some of the heavier posts on Maha’s blog where she walks us through the thought process she followed to reach a conclusion. I call bullshit if anyone tried to tell me that that’s the same as 140 characters or less. I’d also say they were fucking lazy.

Do you really think that “twittering” will one day ever be considered an art form, like excellent writing?

Speaking for myself I have been to hundreds of blogs and only follow two including this one.

I don’t know if it’s such a good idea to push an excellent writer down just to make a random twitter-er feel like they’re in the same art class. It’s like telling a hack he does the same thing as a surgeon!!

Really though, some people’s lives are a lot more fucking interesting than others and they tell better stories and read situations in a unique way. I’ve read twitter idiots and they can’t articulate that excellent story telling or introspection in 140 characters or less. You won’t ever be able to convince me they can! There’s something nice to be said for a person who can fucking write – I’m not one of them by the way

Just my two cents. -lily
Sat May 30, 01:26:00 PM
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Anonymous Anonymous said…

Hi – I am posting this on behalf of Maha because she can not access her blog while at work, due to firewalls.

Hey Michelle! Sorry it took me so long to respond. Since Austin, I have started enjoying relatively low-key as-much-as-possible-free-of-technology weekends!

The only thing I would say about what you wrote is that whereas some bloggers actually “blog” for nothing more than attention, others do so not at all for the attention but rather for the exercise itself. I believe I fall into the later category; it’s not about writing for attention (I actually don’t like the word “blogger”), even though when discussion is generated it is welcome (and for me, it is always an honor when one person reads anything and thinks enough of it to comment!), but rather writing for a love of writing.

As to the difference – I sort of have to agree with Lily >> I don’t believe its fair or even possible to compare a writer to a tweeter / twyper (?). I don’t really even understand why you’d want to. I think that’s doing a great disservice to writers. And this isn’t meant to slag twatters or whatever their official name is, but rather it is to pay homage to the art of the written word. To the art of writers – because excellent story telling is truly an art form – great narrative and the power of description are lost in a Twpe. Would you even attempt to argue against that? Do you really believe that something like: “Clowns are creepy and scary and evil.” is = It by Stephen King?

There is, I believe, a certain lushness and luxury to writing that is entirely lost when we condense. This is not to say I like reading literature where the author rambles on and on and on because they’re being paid per word. It is to say that I appreciate the weaving that a writer must understake in order to deliver words just so. Just so in mystery…writing is an entirely sensual experience when it is done well.

Twitter is good for information sharing. For quick blips and hiccups of fun and clever quips, but it is not a place in which a reader can feast as they would within literature.

xxoo m
Tue Jun 02, 01:07:00 PM
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Anonymous michelle said…

I do believe you’ve mentioned that writer-versus-blogger here before. It’s an understandable way of approaching it and of seeing oneself, but then why use the medium of the internet? (completely rhetorical question, and not intended to put bugs any farther up anyone’s butt here).

If it were solely for exercise, just the exercise of writing would get the job done, yes? And I have no doubt you do a LOT of just writing as well as what you do choose to share here, I’m not saying any one thing or another, I’m merely asking in an A = B, so if you do A, you are looking to get B sort of overall view of how things appear to progress online.

I’m pretty sure everyone who visits here, even if only for a brief read, knows, Miss Maha, that you are an excellent writer. And no one here is debating that. And no one here needs to tell you that, you have already accomplished many things through your writing that attest to that fact. Topically there may be some “wtf?” but “quality” isn’t in the spotlight of this discussion (and it never was).

I wonder if it stems from my background in technical writing that I’m more of a “point, STAT” apprecianado? Surely you’ve heard of the 6-word stories challenge (if not, you can read about it here).

I’m in no way saying the vast majority of twitter users are interesting or even legible. I’m in no way saying *I* am either of those things (and just because I use it, doesn’t mean I take kindly to having any of those monikers applied to me). But discounting something that might also be an exercise (although perhaps an exercise in focus rather than elaboration) leaves a writer where?

Blogs quickly become echo chambers, as you may or may not have noticed, which if a writer is looking for feedback doesn’t really stretch any kind of muscle, does it? So it’s what, feast vs. buffet?
Tue Jun 09, 09:31:00 PM
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Blogger one female canuck said…

All interesting and valid points, Michelle – the 6 word thing is neat, too…and that point may have something to do with it too when one discusses perhaps more sophisticated Twitter-ers and bloggers. Maybe since I studied the arts and you the sciences, there will be a different approach and perspective. Food for thought there.

Also – one person commenting or one email response to an entry to me is a million times better than writing in solitary. I’ll take one above none any day….

Ooooh also, maybe because I was asked to start this blog, I have a different perspective also? I didn’t do this on my own, so that may create a different perspective, no doubt.

m
Tue Jun 09, 10:05:00 PM
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Blogger one female canuck said…

Ps. This comment on your link is hilarious:

Nazara dilworth says:

Wait. Eww this tastes like poetry.

…and it’s 6 words. Brilliant.

See – if Twitter was as such, it would be lovely. It’s the hijacking of it by fkn idiots and MORONS like Kutcher (who said something ridiculous about how Twitter will “democratize” the world – SHUT UP).
Tue Jun 09, 10:09:00 PM